Title I Dondero School Plan

SAU: 52

District: Portsmouth

Title I Dondero School Plan 2017-2018

Selection of Students in Targeted Assistance Schools:

The following is a brief description of the enrollment protocol for the Title 1 program at Dondero. All students, k-5, are assessed using the DRA (Developmental Reading Assessment). A teacher or reading specialist administers the DRA. Students who score below the grade-level benchmark may be eligible for Title I support after classroom teachers fill out the student composite sheet. Incoming kindergarten students are screened using an assessment appropriate for 5-6 year olds, as many of them are not yet reading. At Dondero, Title I support will begin mid-year for kindergarten only to allow for a more thorough screening by teachers at the beginning of the year. Title I staff will support eligible students in all other grades beginning in September. The staff member, who will be working in the kindergarten classrooms midyear on, will work with other students until kindergarten screening is complete.

Additional Assessment and High Quality:

Progress of every child in grades K-5 in the Portsmouth School system is monitored through a combination of both formal and informal measures. In September, classroom teachers, literacy teachers, special educators and administrators meet to discuss the needs of individual students class by class. Students in all 3 elementary schools are given the Developmental Reading Assessment II(DRA) by Joetta Beaver. Class lists are reviewed and student services are identified based on assessment results, teacher observation, and prior performance. Students who fall below the established grade level benchmark on the DRA are considered for Title I services at Dondero. This piece of data is the starting point to student selection based on a cumulative score on the Title I Student Selection Sheet at our targeted Title I school. Students in grades K-2 are also given the Fundations beginning of the year assessment and scores from the previous spring are used to determine participation in the program at Dondero and classroom support at our Schoolwide elementary school New Franklin. As the year progresses, strengths and weaknesses of students are shared with parents in November during parent conferences so that they can see how their children are performing. At Dondero, Title I also distributes to families mid-trimester progress reports to keep parents up to date on areas of growth and concern. Administration of on-going formative assessments, running records and student conferences all help teachers to pinpoint where each child is based on the Grade Level Expectations. In addition to the measures previously listed, beginning this year SBAC data in reading will be used as an additional data point. Each Portsmouth elementary school student who receives a score which is below standard on the reading portions of the SBAC is individually evaluated in terms of current services delivered and future needs.

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Student Success is determined not only by exhibiting academic growth on the formal and informal assessment measures, but also student’s attitude toward literacy as seen by the classroom teacher and support personnel. Reading specialists, Title I staff, classroom teachers and administration closely monitor formal assessment results of individual students to identify areas of growth and concern. Through a combination of performance on both formative and summative measures such as teacher/student conferences, running records, Fundations unit tests, DRA and SBAC a complete assessment profile is developed for each student. Additionally students who are not successfully discontinued will receive a “wrap around” approach that will allow for continued supplemental support from reading specialists. Portsmouth Title I also includes parents in conversations regarding the success of the program. At the end of the year, parents are encouraged to fill out the Title I Parent Survey and offer recommendations and suggestions.

Title I staff has received high quality professional development in Fundations word study program for students in K-2 and the Fountas and Pinnell Leveled Literacy Intervention System.

Links to Fundations Evidence of Effectiveness and program research can be found at: http://www.wilsonlanguage.com/programs/research-results/research-base/ness

Links to Fountas and Pinell’s LLI system can be found: http://www.heinemann.com/fountasandpinnell/research/lliresearchbase.pd

The Title I program in Portsmouth works closely with staff, administrators and families to review and reflect on program success. Formally, building reading specialists and literacy teachers monitor identified students’ performance based on the DRA as well as day-to-day performance in the classroom. Parents and teachers are encouraged to give feedback on the program offering suggestions and comments.

Indicators Other Than Assessment:

At Dondero there is a formal RTI process in place and a Title I teacher is a standing member of the weekly meeting. Effective strategies and interventions are discussed in meeting the needs of the child. Weekly conferences are held in the classroom with each child in writing and self-selected reading. Teachers use this opportunity to discuss what each child is reading and writing about, and to advance the child’s appreciation for quality literature and writing.

Additional Support:

As a targeted assistance school, Dondero works very carefully to identify and meet the needs of its Title I population. At Dondero Title I funds a full time literacy teacher and after the completion of the DRA an additional literacy tutor will be hired based upon student need. The literacy teacher and tutor work in both an in-class and pull out model to support students during the literacy block. Title I staff has been trained in Wilson’s Fundation word study program, the Fountas and Pinnell Leveled Literacy Intervention System and RAVO. In addition, the Title I literacy teacher is a Level 2 Fundations trainer and trained in Wilson reading.

Coordination with Regular Classroom

Title I staff members at Dondero meet with classroom teachers monthly to establish student goals and to plan interventions to use with students towards meeting these goals. Title I is designed as a targeted intervention for students below benchmark. Based on data collected from data such as the DRA and instructional conferences between teachers and students, individualized literacy goals are set. Title I personnel provide direct instruction towards student goals and monitor progress which is then reported back to teachers during the meeting time. Goals are adjusted based on student performance. Information shared during these meeting directly impacts instruction both in and out of the classroom since it becomes based on constant data collection and student performance.

The reading specialist or Title I Literacy Teacher meet weekly with the Title I staff for a minimum of thirty minutes. Individual follow-up meetings are held when appropriate. At Dondero classroom teachers, special educators and Title I staff meet weekly to talk about meeting student needs and appropriate interventions. This provides an opportunity for concerns to be shared and plans addressed in a comprehensive format.

In addition, a Composite Referral is mandatory for all students being considered for Title 1 services. The classroom teacher fills in the form, and the Title I literacy teacher rank orders students based on the data collected: the higher the score, the more needy the student. Please see attached copies of the Composite Referral Form, the Composite Rating Scale, and the DRA Scoring.

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Parent Involvement:

All Title I parents are encouraged to participate in the Title I Parent Advisory Committee. This committee meets annually to evaluate the program and offer suggestions for future parent events. Dondero adopted a Parent-School Compact in 2008, the first year of Title I programming, after evaluating the needs of the population. All compacts were developed by a team of parents, teachers and administrators and are individual to each elementary school. Compacts are distributed to parents at the November parent-teacher conferences to all Portsmouth families, not just Title I families as an agreement between the district and families to work towards improved communication and academic success.A District Wide Parent Involvement Agreement based upon the New Hampshire DOE template was created during thesummer of 2010. This policy will be distributed with Title I permission slips and program information.

In addition, information about Title I is sent to the parents of all participating children. Teachers are asked to personally notify each parent, preferably by telephone, to explain the reason for the referral. This gives parents an opportunity to personally discuss the placement before they are asked to agree to have the child participate. In the fall, parents are sent a Title I brochure with information about the program and contact numbers to use during the school year.

Professional Development:

All staff members of the Portsmouth School District are provided with countless opportunities for professional development. All new staff are required to attend a series of professional development courses tied to Brain Based Teaching, Differentiation and The Skillful Teacher. The district has made a commitment to improving the instruction and interventions available to all students based in the work of the DuFours’ Professional Learning Communities. Grade level teams meet weekly across the elementary schools in their PLC teams allowing for job embedded professional development tied to student work. Continuing into the 17-18 school year, the district has allocated 6 early release days and 3 full days to professional development. Teachers are working in individual buildings as well as across district grade level teams on topics such as development of science units based on the Next Generation Science Standards, Close Reading, literacy interventions and development of writing assessments tied to grade level standards.

The Portsmouth elementary schools implement Lucy Calkin’s Units of Study in Reading and Writing. New units are being piloted and professional development will be tied to the successful implementation of the updated units.

Coordination and Integration with Other Programs:

Beginning in Kindergarten, Title I services are coordinated with other programs through out the district. Staff from Head Start and PEEP (Portsmouth Early Education Program) meets with Kindergarten teachers and representatives from the other support services including reading (reading specialists oversee the building Title I programs), speech, special ed and nursing. In the fall a team of building staff, including Title I, screens each Kindergarten child in the areas of concepts of print, rhyming and letter knowledge. Placement will be made in the appropriate programs following the screening (see composite form attached). The building reading specialists and the Director of Special Ed work with the ESOL teacher to assure coordination for ESOL students.

Homeless Children:

The Director of Pupil Support serves as the district’s homeless liaison and coordinates with the Title I Director to ensure that homeless students’ academic needs are being met. Set-aside dollars provide funds for school supplies, clothing, and transportation to evening and parent activities as well as payment for items that would equalize the educational opportunities between homeless and non homeless Portsmouth students (i.e. cap and gown, environmental camp, take home books). Homeless children who enter Dondero during the school year are immediately eligible for Title I services. Set-aside funds have also been used at higher levels to provide academic tutoring. Each child who enters the system is screened for need by the building reading specialists. If a student who is considered homeless under McKinney-Vento lacks reading/language arts skills, he/she is eligible to receive services in the classroom.

A district Homeless Policy was established in 2007 along with the adoption of the state’s dispute process to ensure rights of homeless students and their families in Portsmouth. The district’s Title I Coordinator and Homeless Liaison collaborate with area liaisons, Dr. Lynda Thistle-Elliot and area agencies such as Rockingham Community Action, Crossroads and the United Way to ensure that students are receiving an equitable education.

Foster Care Students:

All students upon enrollment at Dondero are assessed using the DRA and scores are used to determine academic need in literacy. If a student had been in a Title I program at their sending school prior to foster care placement in Portsmouth, then the student will be enrolled in the Dondero program.